


ocean of light

by fairmyrmidon



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Soen no Kiseki/Akatsuki no Megami | Fire Emblem Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn
Genre: Canon Compliant, Gen, IkeSoren Week 2021, M/M, Post-Radiant Dawn, Radiant Dawn Spoilers, fluff mostly, postgame
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-15 02:59:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28681476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fairmyrmidon/pseuds/fairmyrmidon
Summary: Soren was taken aback by the relieved look on Ike’s face, the way he could tell what he was thinking--I want you to come with. He was surprised at how it made him feel--happy, maybe, or content was a better word. Somehow he had smiled, and Ike grinned at the sight of it, and Soren bowed his head, face flushed.“My home,” he said, words steady despite his sudden embarrassment, “is with you.”[free day ikesoren week 2021 - Ike and Soren leave Tellius]
Relationships: Ike/Senerio | Soren
Comments: 1
Kudos: 30
Collections: IkeSoren Week 2021





	ocean of light

Ike and Soren try to leave Tellius without fanfare.

It is much harder than they both thought.

The easiest thing would be to wait until the world has settled. Wait until Tellius settles back into normal life, so that everything keeps going and they can slip again, forgotten, into legend and obscurity. 

But that would take too long, Soren knows. It would take too long and neither of them have the patience for it. If it was up to Soren they would be long gone by now without goodbyes, politeness be damned. But there are the Greil Mercenaries, there are the laguz, and as brusque as Ike is he is too kind to leave without saying goodbye.

* * *

Soren was the first person Ike tried saying his goodbyes to. Before they even spoke seriously about traveling, he broached the subject cautiously a few days after the final battle. The chaos and notoriety had been getting to them--inevitable as always--as Ike finally, apprehensively, brought up the idea of leaving Tellius. Maybe apprehensive wasn’t the correct term; he was sure of his plans, of seeing what lay beyond the ocean and the desert. But there was an uncertainty hiding behind his words, somewhere.

Then Soren had asked if Ike planned on traveling alone. And Ike had blurted something along the lines of of course he wouldn’t expect the Greil Mercenaries to follow him goddess-knows-where. He went on to admit that it would be different, refreshing even to not have to be the leader for once. 

Soren had been quiet then, and confused, Ike asked what he planned on doing. Soren thought a few moments before speaking, his voice as clipped as always. “What do you think? My place has always been with  _ you _ , not with any army or mercenary troupe. That is, if you would want me with y--”

“Of course,” Ike interrupted. “I was kind of expecting that. I was going to ask you, but I didn’t want to just ask you to give up everything out of nowhere or something, so--”

Soren was taken aback by the relieved look on Ike’s face, the way he could tell what he was thinking-- _ I want you to come with _ . He was surprised at how it made him feel--happy, maybe, or content was a better word. Somehow he had smiled, and Ike grinned at the sight of it, and Soren bowed his head, face flushed.

“My home,” he said, words steady despite his sudden embarrassment, “is with you.”

* * *

It surprises no one on Tellius that when Ike leaves, Soren goes with him. It does not surprise Soren that when Ike says his goodbyes, most of them continue their tradition of acting like Soren does not exist. It does not affect him; he does not care much what they think of him, and after all he is leaving anyway.

Of course, that is overexaggerating things. Goodbyes to the Greil Mercenaries are one thing. There is a sense of sadness and finality to them, hidden behind false cheer. Goodbyes are shared, and Mia yells about adventures or rivals or something stupid, and Titania snaps at him for looking miserable one last time. When it's time to finally leave Mist, who hasn't said a word to him thus far, throws her arms around his neck and hugs him tight. 

“Take care of him,” she whispers into his hair. Soren does not know what to do. He stays frozen as Mist finally releases him and steps back, smiling sheepishly and wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. Soren does not know what to say, so he nods. 

Mist nods back. 

The Greil Mercenaries are the final goodbye. Besides them there are Tibarn and the bird tribes; there is the Empress and Queen Elincia. Talking to the Beast Tribes takes longer than expected, Skrimir talking loudly about imagined adventures or something stupid, but Soren is mostly able to tune him out.

“...Would be interesting,” Ranulf is saying to Ike, also completely ignoring Skrimir. “But I’ll wait awhile before going anyway. Have to make sure he doesn’t make a fool of himself… for now, anyway.”

The only other group of note is the very first one they spoke to. Daein left the tower quickly; they had a country to restore. The Dawn Maiden and her shadow, the prince--former prince now--and his supposed mother, and the dragon king. The latter two were strange to still be here, as the other dragons were long gone by then; they didn’t say much, and faded into the background. 

(“Why are they here?” Soren asked.

Ike had only shrugged. “They didn’t say, and I didn’t ask.”)

These are Ike’s goodbyes to Tellius: to family, friends, and former enemies. Soren is present for all of them.

There is one goodbye Soren makes that Ike does not see.

* * *

Soren never actually saw Stefan leave with anyone. He just kind of disappeared the same way he appeared.

Soren had not actually spoken to Stefan since the Mad King’s War. He wasn’t even aware that Stefan had joined Micaiah’s army until Ike offhandedly mentioned it. He did not see the man again until the goddess was long gone, and Ike was speaking to the Empress and her retainers.

“I heard that you are leaving Tellius.”

Soren jumped, and then cursed Stefan for somehow being able to sneak up on him so quietly. “What’s it to you?” he snapped. 

“Nothing.” Stefan’s face was surprisingly blank. “I wanted to let you know that my previous offer still stands.”

_ Offer _ . Stefan’s village--the colony of half-laguz, half-beorc living in the desert. The Branded. Soren scowled at the memory. He had been so skittish then when Stefan had first mentioned it to him, horrified of himself and what Ike might think of him. But his mind had not changed in the three years since the Mad King’s War. The idea of living in a closed off village did not appeal to him. Maybe Ike’s talk of travels was getting to him; maybe it was just the mercenary in him. What need did a hidden village have for a tactician?

Finally, Soren said, “And my rejection of your offer still stands.”

Stefan nodded. He didn’t look surprised. “Is that what you would keep doing, then? Travel from place to place?”

Soren didn’t--doesn’t--even want to think about the implication hidden in that sentence, the question that Stefan was trying to ask. Angrily, he pushed it away. “I don’t think that concerns you?”

Stefan had almost smiled. “Well, remember just the same. And good luck.”

And as quickly as he had approached, the Swordmaster was gone--fast enough that Ike never saw him at all, and did not know to ask him about it.

Soren tries to act like the conversation never happened, and pushes Stefan to the back of his memories.

* * *

Their journey begins by boat, of course. The Empress puts them in contact with an old sea captain and a barebones crew that has nothing better to do than try and see what might be out there. 

Stocking the ship and paying the crew comes out of the money the Empress still owed them. They pack lightly and set out--determined to find, well, anything, be it new land or the edge of the world or to wrap around back to the east and find Crimea again. 

The journey is long but not unpleasant. Ike and Soren get to know the crew and help where they are needed, offering assistance as much as they can. Neither are used to standing by and doing nothing, and they aren’t about to start now. It has been years since they were on a ship and they aren’t exactly sure what to do with themselves. Ike helps with any task they can find and Soren keeps inventory, jotting items and numbers down daily in a tiny accounting book.

The strangest thing about the ship is the silence of it. They start the journey by sharing stories--the crew of their lives at sea and Ike and Soren of their lives as mercenaries. As the days progress they settle into routine and a comfortable silence. For once, there is not an army chattering constantly around them. It is a comfortable silence, but also a little bit lonely. Soren never realized how much he’d grown used to the Greil Mercenaries’ constant noise.

The silence pushes down on Ike as well. There is the quiet and the worry and the what ifs--what if there really is nothing else out there? What if all the stories are really true, and the goddess swept them all away? They do not voice their concerns, but everyone is thinking them, and they are felt all over the ship.

Suddenly none of that matters, though. All that worry melts away when one of the crewman cries, “Land!”

Ike and Soren are belowdeck when they hear it, and they climb back up to see the captain and his men all above staring, all cheering. Ike goes to the edge of the ship and Soren follows, and the two can see it on the horizon--not only land, but a dock. 

A harbor. 

A harbor means people.

The captain puts a hand on Ike’s shoulder. (He has to reach up to do it, being several inches shorter.) “Looks like you boys were right after all.”

“Thank you,” Ike begins, but the captain waves him off. “It was nothing, and gave me the excuse to be sailing again. A voyage with the Radiant Hero--I’ll have plenty of stories to tell, should we finally return home.”

Still, as the crew sets about docking the boat, Ike gives him the rest of the payment. The captain tries to refuse, citing the crew’s desire to make this journey, but Ike insists. Honest as always, Ike makes the captain accept the gold, and Soren hands over the ship’s accounting book.

“What do you plan to do now?”

Ike shrugs, still staring at the dock, now close enough enough that they can see the crowd of people and a town beyond it. He looks over at Soren, who has one hand raised, trying to keep his windblown hair from his face. Soren shrugs, and Ike grins, wide enough that Soren can’t help but smile in response. 

“We don’t know yet. But that’s the fun part, isn’t it?”

* * *

Their first trip into that port town sets the tone for their journey. 

When they finally land, Ike and Soren say their goodbyes and separate themselves from the captain and his crew, and for the first time ever they are completely on their own. 

There is a market near the harbor, and it is an excellent place to try to get their bearings. There are shops of all kinds, selling anything from food and clothing to weapons and armor to home goods and furniture.

It is strange, walking through a strange town with no one to recognize or to recognize them. It is strange to not see Mist and Oscar shopping for food, or see Boyd and Mia picking through the weapons and armor. In the middle of the crowded marketplace Ike suddenly stops, as if he is thinking the same thing. Soren is holding a spare Wind tome in his arms; he shifts it under one arm and reaches out to find Ike’s hand, squeezing it once.

Then the moment passes, Ike squeezes back, and they continue.

To Soren’s surprise, most of the people here speak in the modern tongue. He did not expect their languages to match up; he didn’t expect the ancient tongue exactly, but at least something unfamiliar. He recognizes most of what the marketgoers are saying, though. He listens to the passing snippets of conversation and starts to make sense of this place. 

Ike and Soren took inventory of their own belongings, of course, back on the ship. Each carries his own bag, although Ike’s is a bit larger than Soren’s. They have a modest collection of camping supplies--no tent, but otherwise the basics--and a single change of clothes. There are some nonperishable food items from the ship and some pouches for water. Ike has several swords--cheap ones, iron and steel--with several wrapped and one kept within arm’s reach. Soren has two tomes in his bag and an extra Wind tome in his arms. He also has their vulneraries and some miscellaneous first aid supplies, capped off by the Heal staff strapped to his back. Ike still has some gold left over from paying the ship captain and they haven’t even touched Soren’s savings yet.

They examine the stalls. There are magic tomes, but there are less of them and they are more expensive than they would be in Tellius. Soren makes a mental note of this and instead buys from the stall a thin ledger book, pens, and ink. A quick conversation confirms that their gold is acceptable here. Soren does not barter--unsure of the habits of an unfamiliar city--and hands over the full amount. 

“I asked around while you were paying,” Ike says while tucking the items into Soren’s bag so that he doesn’t have to take it off his shoulders. “Some people said there is a tavern down that way.” He gestures down a street, away from the market. “Want to check it out?”

“Lead the way,” Soren responds, and Ike does.

* * *

There is a consistency to towns, and their travels fall into a sort of pattern. There are markets and shops in every town, and there is always a bar or a tavern.

Ike talks. When they reach a new place, Ike asks questions. He talks to bartenders, innkeepers, shop owners about their village--what is nearby? What is it like? He listens to the villagers’ stories and offers little of his own backstory in return. Just two mercenaries in search of work.

Soren listens. While Ike strikes up conversations, Soren sits back, nodding in all the right places. He listens to the bar patrons and the customers, saving the little pieces of information for later. His work as a tactician comes in handy--even the slightest bit of conversation could prove necessary later. Sometimes he gets more about the town from his eavesdropping than from the questions that Ike asks.

They make conversation in whatever town they have found themselves in and stock up on supplies. In some towns they can charm their way into discounts and in others they argue about paying twice what they would pay elsewhere. As Soren expected, tomes and staves get more rare and more expensive the farther they go. Every night, whether by fire or by lamplight, Soren keeps track of their spending in the ledger book he bought when they first arrived. His hand written is cramped and small on pages so thin they are nearly translucent. On Ike’s suggestion, he jots the names of the towns they visit in the margins.

They go to each village and ask for work. They have not spent all their funds by any means, but it doesn’t hurt to find work, and there is always the possibility that they reach somewhere where their gold will no longer be accepted. Ike asks for work and an innkeeper is usually able to point them in the right direction. Sometimes it is odd jobs; Ike will help with building or moving, and Soren helps manage checkbooks and sort through old records. Other jobs are more classic “mercenary” tasks like driving away bandits.

There is a sense of familiarity in combat, as the two fight the same way they always have, side by side. Soren uses his magic sparingly because tomes are expensive. The staves are even worse; they resort to using vulneraries and bandages and using the staff only when necessary.

They travel by foot mostly. They ask the townspeople for anything interesting in the area and go to search for these places on the way to their next destination. They don’t have a tent but make camp in caves and sheltered overpasses, using cloaks and robes and each other to keep warm. They eat what they can find--provisions from the previous town, or trap and forage when they have the proper equipment to do so. They don’t have a destination. They are just happy to be there, traveling, together. The villagers they pass eventually remember them as a quiet couple content to just  _ be _ . They don’t want fame, riches, titles--only a job and a place to stay.

Traveling at Ike’s side, Soren is the happiest he has ever been in his life. Ike is relaxed--Ike is happy--and Soren could not ask for anything more. 

**Author's Note:**

> happy ikesoren week 2021! I had like seven different ideas... and wrote none of them whoops
> 
> Title taken from "Ocean of Light" by Nell
> 
> Thank you to the always wonderful @Xiaber3 on twitter for tolerating my feverish writing and constant whining about whatever this thing turned out to be!
> 
> Find me on Twitter at @fairmyrmidon, where I scream about Ike, Soren, Navarre, and who knows what else


End file.
